Ohiki

The Ohiki has a compact, Chabo-like carriage with a distinctly raised, rounded rump and lavish dragging plumage. It stands low on olive-green (willow) legs; the wings hang low and often nearly touch the ground. The hallmark is long, narrow saddle and sickle feathers that drag, with the tail at about 30° also trailing.

• Comb: Medium single comb (4–6 points), large for the size but less massive than in Chabo.
• Earlobes: White to yellowish white; greenish-yellow while growing new feathers (then reflecting leg colour).
• Eyes: Orange-red to red-brown.
• Weight (Dutch standard): Cock 750–900 g, hen 600–750 g (Japanese standard cites about 937 / 750 g).
• Ring size: Cock 13 mm, hen 11 mm.

As a highly ornamental long-tailed breed, the Ohiki is not a prolific layer. Hens typically produce a modest amount of small white to cream-colored eggs, usually averaging around 60-100 eggs per year. They are known to be good mothers and will often go broody, which is essential for maintaining this rare breed's population.

Sex differences are strong because of male plumage. Cocks have long tails and dragging saddles: typically 60–80 cm (easier to drag), while Onagadori-like lines reach 90–150 cm. Not all Japanese breeders favour ultra-long lines. Hens lack a dragging train but have a full, ‘artichoke’-like tail and a more horizontal carriage.

Adult Ohikis are surprisingly cold hardy, lively and tame. They tolerate abrupt environmental change poorly. Because feathers drag on the ground, they need warm, completely dry housing; damp is the main enemy of the plumage. A strongly maize-based diet also seems physiologically poorly tolerated.

In Japan the main colours are black-breasted red (red-hackled), black-breasted silver (silver-hackled) and white. Belgian/Dutch standards describe partridge and silver partridge among others (comparable to black-breasted red/silver).

The Ohiki comes from Kochi Prefecture (Shikoku) in the Edo period (1600–1868), the same region as the Onagadori. The name means ‘tail-dragging’ (O = tail, Hiki = dragging). Some sources say ~1850; that more likely marks early European import than true origin.

In Japan it is also called Minohiki-chabo (dragging saddle + bantam): that describes looks, not kinship with Minohiki. Older Edo names include Kogate no Shôkoku and Totenko Bantamu; it is not a miniaturised Shôkoku or Totenko, but DNA work (Kagoshima University) shows relatedness to Onagadori, Totenko and Shôkoku (including fast feather growth). In 1923 it was designated a cultural inheritance of Japan.

US imports began in 2002 (Toni-Marie Astin); in Europe breeders such as Marc King selected for manageable tail length.

Unlike the Chabo, the Ohiki does not carry the lethal short-legged gene. Short stature comes from other factors (intermediate leg length), so breeding avoids the 25% embryo loss of many short-legged breeds. Chabo hatches produce long- and short-legged chicks; Ohikis breed more true for leg length. They also carry fast feather growth genes typical of Japanese longtails.

Select cocks with legs long enough to mate; extremely short-legged males may struggle with fertility. Chicks hatch wobbly and must not share a brooder with energetic breeds (e.g. gamefowl): tiny Ohiki chicks are easily trampled. Select for a U-shaped backline, rich dragging saddle feathers and a dry rearing pen.